Famed UK balladeer Nick Drake is set to have tribute concerts to him take place at the Sydney Opera House on November 11 and the Melbourne Recital Centre on November 14 and 15. An evening entitled “Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake”, the event is curated by Nick Drake’s original producer, Joe Boyd , who twiddled the knobs for two of Drake’s celebrated albums – Five Leaves Left in 1969, and Bryter Layter in 1970. The concert draws together highly regarded contemporary singers and the collaborators who were involved in those unforgettable original recordings.

The band and string section is led by musical director Kate St John, and features double bassist Danny Thompson, who played on many of Drake’s albums. It also features the original orchestrations arranged by Robert Kirby in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unfortunately Kirby passed away recently, but was able to conduct the string section at the UK’s very first ‘Way To Blue’ concert in May 2009. The shows have now also become a tribute to him.